"He may well be from farther away than Illinois.I think I read somewhere that SEIU is bussing people in from New York, and believe the appeals have gone out nationwide to go to Madison, WI and protest!"

I heard people talking about coming in from San Francisco.

This isn't exactly a march of poor people. These are people fighting to keep the benefits of their very good jobs. And if they win, a lot of their co-workers will be laid off. The ones with the least seniority. And yet young people, yearning to be good, protest the most. It's rather touching... in a weird, perverse way. Especially after a good head-fucking.

"This isn't exactly a march of poor people. These are people fighting to keep the benefits of their very good jobs. And if they win, a lot of their co-workers will be laid off. The ones with the least seniority. And yet young people, yearning to be good, protest the most. It's rather touching... in a weird, perverse way. Especially after a good head-fucking"

Call me you-know-what in the head, but if this were my blog, I'd front-page that one. Just sayin'

"Ever wonder what these people think, once they're childish, vulgar, racist, etc. statements are played all over the net at YouTube? Are they embarrassed? Ashamed? Have a moment of self-awareness?"

In my first Veterans Memorial post, you can see me in the video asking them to think about how this will look to people outside of Madison, and they don't seem to get it, or, I think, they would take the opportunity to speak right into the camera about how much they respect those who serve, that they're terribly sorry, and then proceed to move all their stuff, on camera.

This isn't exactly a march of poor people. These are people fighting to keep the benefits of their very good jobs. And if they win, a lot of their co-workers will be laid off.

You wouldn't trade your cushy taxpayer paid job with any of these people that were out yesterday. Get real. And we know from the KOch call that the layoff threats are just political payback becuase he isn't getting his way. He admitted it.

Meade, have you gotten a job yet? Or are you content to join Ann Althouse and sponge off the taxpayers to the tune of $160,000.00 a year? You two should get some self knowledge and realize that you might not be the best people to get in the faces of working people who make a quarter of what Ann makes for barely working.

But isn't that the way with most college kids - and I use the word "kids" purposefully, because really that's what they still are despite their age - mostly because they are living in their soft world of college dorms, liberal lectures, and over-priced coffee shops blissfully unaware of what the real world has in store for them.

They know about YouTube, of course, but they simply cannot imagine anyone viewing their actions in person or in a video thousands of miles away, disagreeing with them. And especially feeling ashamed of or for them.

How that translates to the older guy who wanted to head-fuck Meade I don't know.

AA said: "This isn't exactly a march of poor people. These are people fighting to keep the benefits of their very good jobs."

I'll second Meade on that one.

And this is what kills me. With U-6 unemployment at something approaching 20%, these spoiled children not only fail to realize they're lucky to have jobs, but have to invent so-called "rights" they're being deprived of to generate sympathy.

Speaking from personal knowledge, here in Jersey on Friday we counted at least 6 superliners that seat 120 each that came in from New York to swell the ranks of the AFL-CIO protest in Trenton.

And let me tell you, on four separate occasions the CWA Red Army marched down the street between their protest and our counter-rally itching for a fight. State troopers and Trenton cops ended up just making a wall in the middle of the street.

It is an amazing coincidence that these protests have been carried out in parallel with the much more fearsome and significant protests in the middle east.

Our lakeside protesters have tried gamely to leverage that fact, but to no avail. They never lead the news, which must depress them. And they are never physically attacked or persecuted, which must confound them.

A couple of years ago, there was an outfit renting an office in New Richmond, WI, and making phone calls for some police association. They were eventually busted, because not one fucking dime went to the cops.

This isn't exactly a march of poor people. These are people fighting to keep the benefits of their very good jobs. And if they win, a lot of their co-workers will be laid off.

As a matter of fact, these protestors are in direct competition with poor people who depend on government services. There's just not enough money to pay everyone, someone's going to lose out. These people want to get theirs, which is understandable, but not exactly noble and selfless.

I suspect that Meade is compensating here for being kept by Ann who is sponging off the WI taxpayers for basically not working. Meade feels the need to pretend that he is the big independent dude because in reality his manhood is shriveling up inside.

"I suspect that Meade is compensating here for being kept by Ann who is sponging off the WI taxpayers for basically not working. Meade feels the need to pretend that he is the big independent dude because in reality his manhood is shriveling up inside."

I don't know if Meade works or not. Don't care, none of my business. But isn't it interesting how the leftists here show their lack of tolerance for other lifestyles?

I guess all liberal households have the traditional marriage thing going - John Wayne-type male goes out to some manly job, while the little woman stays at home and bakes cookies. Screw this feminist crap they say. No other types allowed, except gay marriage of course.

Shame on Meade and Ann for not following tradition.

As to whether Meade's manhood is shriveling from marriage . . . how would that differ from most marriages?

"Law enforcement working at the Capitol has been impressed with how peaceful and courteous everyone has been. As has been reported in the media, the protesters are cleaning up after themselves and have not caused any problems. The fact of that matter is that Wisconsin's law enforcement community opposes Governor Walker's effort to eliminate collective bargaining in this state, and we implore him to not do anything to increase the risk to officers or the public. Security cannot come at the cost of conflict."

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—only 32 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a “proficient” rating while another 2 percent earned an “advanced” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic.”

The test also showed that the reading abilities of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders had not improved at all between 1998 and 2009 despite a significant inflation-adjusted increase in the amount of money Wisconsin public schools spent per pupil each year.

You libbies are helping to control their population through the highest rates of abortion. Can't have 'em overbreeding on their liberal massas can we? Gotta get keep that literacy down too by shitting on the public education system in inner cities.

Looks like you little libbies haven't quite gotten over the Repubs freeing the slaves. That just pisses you off doesn't it J-boy?

Hey J-Boy, looks like you didn't tally up the benefits package to add on to the nice little salary WI teachers get for working 9 months a year while they fail to do an adequate job educating their charges.

I'm sure there are plenty of qualified teachers who would be pleased to have those jobs right now.

So, if someone wants to steal from a store, the police won't chase after him, because 'security cannot come at the cost of conflict'? Or if I am speeding and an officer tries to pull me over I can just keep going, because 'security cannot come at the cost of conflict'?

GMay - "Dependent on the government you silly little teabagee...control their population through the highest rates of abortion...can't have 'em overbreeding on their liberal massas can we?"

What are you a fucking Nazi?

And you feel that only the blacks are dependent on the government?

Assuming you're not black, are you saying you aren't dependent on any government services?

*As to your claim that Republicans "freed the slaves":

From Abe Lincoln's letter to Horace Greeley:

"...my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery, If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."

"So are you saying you and the other teabagging crew here have no problem with a woman having a choice or gays being in the military or gays getting married?"

I'm not talking about my tolerance or lack thereof. I'm just pointing-out your hypocrisy for making an issue of a lifestyle choice that liberals have championed for decades simply because you don't like the people making it.

I will say tolerance is vastly overrated. Especially since, like civility, the left is only interested in it when it suits their needs.

Living in california and watching this sad spectacle going on in Madison, I can only imagine the tantrum the public service unions here are going to put on. And it will happen. We are out of money folks. Why can't they understand that? Oh right, "pueblac scools"

The fact of that matter is that Wisconsin's law enforcement community opposes Governor Walker's effort to eliminate collective bargaining in this state, and we implore him to not do anything to increase the risk to officers or the public.

He forgot to add, "or else," like a real union boss would have said, and talk obliquely about his "friends" from Joizee.

Garage equates a law school grad's compensation to people that maybe have a high school degree but work for the govt so they are paid way more than those who don't work for the govt.

My wife's friend has Masters degree and makes 62k / year as a schoolteacher, 100k less than ALthouse makes, after teaching for 19 yrs. And I've got to beleive she puts in more hours than ALthouse does. It seems like we pay her to blog.

My wife's friend has Masters degree and makes 62k / year as a schoolteacher, 100k less than ALthouse makes, after teaching for 19 yrs. And I've got to beleive she puts in more hours than ALthouse does.

Do people voluntarily fork over $38K a year to take classes from your wife's friend?

Interesting the way commenters on the side of civil disobedience use invective and ad hominem attacks that contribute little to the discourse, while those on the side of reason and order attempt to discuss, well, civilly.

Jay Retread (and Jeremy) imply that because Meade describes himself as self-employed, he is sponging off Ann and, by extension, off the Wisconsin taxpayer. Their attitude makes an interesting statement about how liberals conceive of employment.

In Wisconsin, there are 2.8 million people employed, in the most recent data from 2010. Approximately 100,000 of these claim self-employment as their primary or sole source of income. But these self-employed individuals employ 1.3 million individuals (46% of the workforce) in their small businesses.

In Meade's age bracket, the percentage of self-employed individuals is more than twice that of the combined population, partly because of cultural predisposition toward independence and partly because they have acquired more capital and managerial skills than their younger counterparts.

I suspect that Jay Retread and Jeremy fall into the younger portion of the population, if only because they seem to believe that you are only employed if you work for someone else, preferably government.

In contrast with the millions of people who work in the private sector, only 435,000 of Wisconsin workers are employed in one level of government or another. The vast majority of them do not generate income for the state. Rather, they provide a service that is paid for by their employer, the Wisconsin taxpayers, making us all, in effect, self-employed business owners with a shared group of employees.

Garage:I suggest you stay away from anecdotal examples & look at averages. Or if you want to go with the anecdotal, tell us what her masters is in,what was her GPA, where did she finish in her class? What schooldistrict? What are the metrics of her retirement plan? 2% per year of her last three year'salary and she can retire at age 60 or age 55? See what I mean?

@Jeremy - I take back every kind and positive thing I wrote about you in a previous thread. It appears then when some (on the left) wax reasonable it is a tactic soon dropped thereby revealing true colors?

Hayley Barbour said it best ""When they have collective bargaining in Wisconsin, on one side of the table there's state employee unions or the local employee unions. On the other side of the table are politicians that they PAID FOR in the election of those politicians," Barbour said. "Now, who represents the taxpayers in that negotiation? Well, actually, NOBODY."

Crack Head - I walways get a kick out of blacks who whine about "liberalism"...as if it's a bad thing.

Without it, you'd be sitting at the back of the bus.

Nice. You say that, in that way, and I'm supposed to agree you're on my side? You're an idiot.

You want to know what I always get a kick out of? I always get a kick out of liberals who are under the erroneous impression they gave blacks freedom, and we should be grateful to them, when - as MLK's Letter From A Birmingham Jail made clear - liberals weren't around at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and, once they started to think about it, began by screaming "slow down!"

Funny, but we blacks didn't listen to them then, either.

And let's not even get into the Black Power Movement of the '70s, when blacks started telling liberals to get the fuck out of our lives,...

"Jay Retread" (if ever there was an apt fake name...) sounds embarrassingly like a jealous, spurned lover. The myopic, personal focus on Meade and his lifestyle makes me wonder if Althouse broke up with someone in order to date Meade...

The Capitol is open to the public during normal business hours, plus extended hours when the people’s business is underway. At any other time—or in the case of an emergency—we may be evacuated.

For your safety, the safety of others, and the safety of the protest, we ask that you plan ahead, consider your options carefully, and get whatever support you need to remain calm and peaceful in the event that we are asked to leave.

Nothing written here is intended as legal advice. We just want every person in the Capitol to make informed choices about if, how, and when to leave.

NONVIOLENCE Nonviolence is a philosophy, a lifestyle, and a strategy. Here we address it as a strategy to: • Keep the public on our side • Inform our interactions with counter-protestors • Inform our interactions with police (who mostly support the goals of this protest)

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS Affinity groups are a long-standing way of organizing nonviolent protest. Consider forming a small group of people you already know or meet here to: • Watch out for each other • Know each other’s contact information • Help each other stay healthy and safe (food, sleep, medications, mood, etc.) • Have a designated meeting place if you get separated • Decide together what actions you’ll take • Support each other to leave if anyone can’t stay nonviolent • Have a plan for what to do if you are at risk of arrest

BEING WELL One of the biggest health concerns in a situation like this is burnout. Take time to take care of yourself. Use your affinity group to support you. • Breathe consciously. Even a few deep breaths can make a real difference in your ability to think clearly. Make a habit of breathing consciously 10-15 minutes every day. • Rub your feet! At the end of a day at the Capitol, get the blood circulating, then elevate your feet so they’re less swollen in the morning. • Be sure to take all medications as prescribed. See “Being Arrested” (below) for how to prepare if your meds are critical to your moment-to-moment well-being and you plan to risk arrest.

Mead should know that civil unrest refers to a broad range of activities, but Meade seems excited by the possibility of more than just thousands of Wisconsinites marching peacefully around the Capitol. I wonder if Mead is one of those agents Walker thought of planting in the crowd to stir up violence--just saying.

I don't know if Meade works or not. Don't care, none of my business. But isn't it interesting how the leftists here show their lack of tolerance for other lifestyles?

I think it is a sign that they know the end is near. The fleebaggers will come skulking back to collect their paychecks, the teachers will be back smoking in the teachers' room and the college students in the videos will be back studying whatever they teach in socialist studies programs.

This last outburst of nastiness resembles the scene after all the kids have been chosen for the baseball game and two or three didn't get chosen for a team. That is when you hear the changing voices expressing those obscenities they learned listening to the big boys.

I particularly enjoy the nancy boys making cracks about someone's marriage. Is your right hand seeking a divorce ?

Crack Head - "Like your screed about blacks, you're just proving you don't know much about anything."

My "screed" as you call it, is absolutely true.

Anybody who is black, and thinks the Republicans have their best interests in mind, is not that bright.

You can show up here on a regular basis, and think that because you suck up to The Queen and her loyal sidekick, Needy...and of course, the rest of the teabaggers, that you're "one of the gang," but everybody here knows that's about far from the truth as one can get.

Most of the far right sycophants here could give a rat's ass about you, and have little if any tolerance for anything or anybody who does not fit into their close-minded perception of what America should be.

Journal Sentinel Online article entitled "Protesters Ready to Face Arrests" http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/117011928.html (Feb. 27, 2011 12:12 p.m., copied at 3:51 pm)has this quote:"The Wisconsin AFL-CIO released a statement Sunday that said "hundreds might risk peaceful arrest" as police prepare to shutdown the Capitol by 4 p.m....The statement quoted Wisconsin Professional Police Association Executive Director Jim Palmer, who said:"Law enforcement working at the Capitol has been impressed with how peaceful and courteous everyone has been. As has been reported in the media, the protesters are cleaning up after themselves and have not caused any problems. The fact of that matter is that Wisconsin's law enforcement community opposes Governor Walker's effort to eliminate collective bargaining in this state, and we implore him to not do anything to increase the risk to officers or the public. Security cannot come at the cost of conflict.""

For all you speculating that Governor Walker was not trying to take away collective bargaining from law enforcement is because he is concerned that law enforcement would join the demonstrators. Do recall that the government is supposed to be afraid of the people, not the people afraid of the government. Those public sector unions are public employees, and yes, we need to be concerned about them. The police members AA spoke with are union members. Perhaps that comes first, and protecting comes second.

"Law enforcement working at the Capitol has been impressed with how peaceful and courteous everyone has been. As has been reported in the media, the protesters are cleaning up after themselves and have not caused any problems. The fact of that matter is that Wisconsin's law enforcement community opposes Governor Walker's effort to eliminate collective bargaining in this state, and we implore him to not do anything to increase the risk to officers or the public. Security cannot come at the cost of conflict.""

The reason Governor Walker didn't attempt to strip the police and fire of collective bargaining is that he feared they would join the protesters. Thus, those union police officers AA spoke with are union members. Too many police officers will be union members before serving the public. They want the demonstrators to win their demands, because they don't want to be next.

The Professor has reacted to two incidents that alarmed her. 1) was the accusation of being a child who is rude if she speaks to adults in authority, and 2) being lined up like a grammar school children that can not enter the adult's door. To me this shows that the Progs are asserting that all people are children under their dictatorship of the self-proclaimed Czar.

Jeremy, you do not read well, I said the racist white democrats will not vote for them. The Bradley effect is a result of the racist white democrats. Why do you hate black Americans who leave the liberal plantation?

Jeremy, you have a lot in common with the KKK democrats who did not think blacks should have a right to vote. You think that do not have a right to vote for whom they think is best. Keep the Black Americans on the liberal plantation. KKKJeremy is your new handle.

The head of the AFL-CIO issued a statement about how the police union would like to see things toned down, and that the problem not lead to conflict. Basically, that the protesters have the sympathy of the police. Swell. Walker didn't attempt to take collective bargaining rights from the police and fire because he was concerned they would stop doing their work. Take care of the union before taking care of us.

PaulV "You think that do not have a right to vote for whom they think is best."

I never said anything of the kind.

I said I do not think they should vote for a party that doesn't "represent them best." There's a profound difference between the two.

Your reading comprehension is lacking.

As for your other inane comment that "racist Democrats" didn't vote for Republicans candidates because they're black...well...that really makes little if any sense. (Unless of course, you think Democrats would vote for Republicans if they were not black...duh.)

TWM - "That's easy. A long history of dependency fostered on them by liberals to this day. It's very hard to break out of that when they are told they cannot achieve anything without government help."

The standard right wing argument.

As for the "history" of which you speak, based on the GOP's record of getting black candidates elected (much less even nominated by their party), it's apparently still alive and well.

The overwhelming majority of blacks and other minorities in America know exactly which party supports their cause...and it sure as hell isn't the Republicans. (Unless of course you want to sidle up to a bunch of mostly white teabaggers on a law professor's blog site...for whatever insane reason.)

Bringing up silly references to things that happened decades ago is a waste of time and makes you look stupid.

Anybody who is black, and thinks the Republicans have their best interests in mind, is not that bright.

Jeremy doubling down.

Most of the far right sycophants here could give a rat's ass about you, and have little if any tolerance for anything or anybody who does not fit into their close-minded perception of what America should be.

On the other hand we Democrats deeply appreciate you and tell you so every four years.

Jeremy: You little racist shit, you think you can get away with your vile characterizations of conservative blacks as stupid? You are the one you little turd who is deeply in need of an education and a little respect for people of color who might disagree with you. You fucking racist idiot.

Jeremy: "Unions gave us weekends, child labor laws, minimum wage, sick days, vacation, collective bargaining and workers having the ability to earn a living wage."

And you think that public employees need to protect themselves from the government which might reinstall the evils that are now against the law? You know, of course, that public employees are the government. Or do you have some racist slant on that as well?

Long before the auto industry was organized by the UAW in the late 1930s, in the early 1920s Henry Ford first reduced the work week to 5 1/2 nine hour days and then 5 eight hour days. With three 8 hour shifts, he could run his factories 24 hrs a day (and employ more people).

Wages were going up long before unions were successful organizing American labor. Here, again, you see the influence of Ford, who started paying $5/day to keep his workers - he had a 93% turnover rate with new hires and that impedes productivity, so Ford paid people more money to work in his factories (which were terrible places to work). Ford also had a company health clinic for his employees and their families.

Unions take credit for lots of stuff they never really accomplished.

Still, we shouldn't be talking about unions. This isn't about private sector unions, this is about public employees bankrupting society.

You racist fuck, you piece of shit, take your idiotic racial ideas elsewhere. You are too fucking stupid to even recognize how demeaning your dumb comments are. Go away.

You little racist shit, you think you can get away with your vile characterizations of conservative blacks as stupid? You are the one you little turd who is deeply in need of an education and a little respect for people of color who might disagree with you. You fucking racist idiot.~~~~~

Would like to thank Michael for once again showing why AA said her political blog is the best ...

btw Michael congrats on the irony ;) in both of your posts as you're a f*cking genius! w/words, eh.

I'm a little confused about what unions have or have not given us. Most of the things Jeremy lists were signed into law by FDR during the depression. Certainly one can credit the Democrats, but the role of unions is somewhat debatable. From the U.S. Department of Labor:

Organized labor supported the bill but was split on how strong it should be. Some leaders, such as Sidney Hillman of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union and David Dubinsky of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, supported a strong bill. In fact, when Southern congressmen asked for the setting of lower pay for their region, Dubinsky's union suggested lower pay for Southern congressmen. But William Green of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and John L. Lewis of the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO), on one of the rare occasions when they agreed, both favored a bill which would limit labor standards to low-paid and essentially unorganized workers. Based on some past experiences, many union leaders feared that a minimum wage might become a maximum and that wage boards would intervene in areas which they wanted reserved for labor-management negotiations. They were satisfied when the bill was amended to exclude work covered by collective bargaining.

It's also interesting that the Fair Labor Standards Act was partially set aside for World War II.